Sitting in the Snow
by LadyNightRunner
Summary: All alone in Nibelheim, Vincent finds himself with an unexpected guest. She has many things to teach him about life, laughter, love, and monsters in the basement.


Written over Christmas break, this piece is just mehaving fun with the whole Marlene/Vincent/Chaos thing that I use so often. I like to think of both Vincent and Chaos as big softies. Enjoy, and check out the new poll on my profile!

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Winter in Nibleheim was cold, snowy, cloudy, and rather isolating. That was the main reason why Vincent liked it; he could spend his days in peace without being bothered to attend this birthday or that picnic, snug in the refurbished parts of the old ShinRa mansion.

Or so he thought. That was before Tifa arrived with Cid on his bi-weekly supply drop. She brought Marlene with her and, when Tifa left, Marlene remained.

The reason, as Tifa had explained, was that Cloud was in a bit of a bind and needed her assistance (something about a cult and some strange religion). She couldn't take Marlene with her, and while she had no trouble leaving Denzel with Cid, Barret had determined that Cid was not a suitable guardian for his little girl. Apparently, moody, reclusive, mysterious Vincent fit his requirements.

Thus, Vincent found himself with a seven year-old at his side, a suitcase and backpack in the entry, and an unknown period of unexpected companionship looming ahead of him.

-------------------------

Day One: Exhausted from the trip, Marlene ate dinner, took a bath, and fell asleep as soon as Vincent flicked the bedroom light off.

Day Two: Marlene stumbled into the kitchen at eight o'clock, dragging a chocobo plushie and still wearing her pajamas. She found Vincent nursing his second cup of coffee and paging slowly through a book of poetry. He let her climb onto his knee, absently moving his hand to make space. He paid very little attention to her until she picked up his mug and sipped the coffee.

"Eew!" she squealed. "Why do you wanna drink this?"

"Because I like it."

"It's gross!"

"It's an acquired taste."

"Yuck."

"Would you like a cup? I can make it much sweeter and smoother."

Marlene nodded slowly. Vincent picked her up, put in his chair, and went to the counter. With Marlene watching curiously, he mixed milk and sugar in a small mug and added just enough coffee to make it all warm and a creamy shade of tan. He tasted a spoonful, then carried the mug to Marlene.

"Try it now."

She sipped cautiously, then smiled at him.

"It's good!"

"I told you."

Day Three: Marlene spent most of the say occupied with several puzzle and coloring books. Vincent, ever the bachelor, cracked open the handful of cookbooks his friends had been giving him since he'd set up house in the mansion in search of recipes to make for Marlene. A sixty year-old reanimated gunslinger could – and often did- live off of whatever he picked up when he was hungry. A growing child required more balanced meals.

Day Five: Miserable sobbing woke Vincent in the middle of the night. He rolled over, looked at the clock- 11:43pm- and slid out of bed.

Marlene was huddled in the middle of her big bed, clutching her stuffed chocobo and crying.

"Marlene?"

"I had a nightmare," she whimpered.

Unsure what to do, Vincent sat on the edge of the bed. Marlene scooted into his lap and huddled in the shelter of his arm.

"It was scary."

"Tell me about it?" he ventured.

Vincent fell asleep in Marlene's bed after telling a long, involved story about a chocobo named Marie. It had been necessary after the retelling of the nightmare had reduced her to tears a second time.

Day Six: Vincent woke up with Marlene tucked under his arm, one hand fisted in his hair. He tried to get up, and she mumbled unhappily. He sighed and settled back down.

Two hours later, he padded down the hall with Marlene balanced, yawning, on his hip.

Together they perused the comic section of one of the papers Cid had brought, sipped coffee, and nibbled on Pop-Tarts.

Day Seven: Dark clouds completely obscured the sky. Vincent made a number of trips to the woodpile in the backyard. Each time he went out, Marlene skipped after him. Each time he headed back in, arms loaded down with wood, Marlene walked ahead with kindling and small pieces of wood and held the door open for him. They amassed an impressive pile before it grew too dark and windy to go out.

That evening, Marlene watched, fascinated, while Vincent built a fire in the hearth. Once it was burning well, he settled on the couch. Marlene climbed into his lap and pointed out pictures in the flames.

Day Eight: Marlene shot into the room, leaped, and landed squarely on Vincent's stomach. He squawked in surprise.

"It's snowing!" Marlene squealed.

"Whuh?"

"It's _snowing_!" she repeated, bouncing excitedly. "There's tons of it outside! It' beautiful! Come look!"

"Umph."

"Come _on_," she insisted, crawling under the blankets to plant cold hands and feet on Vincent's stomach and legs. "You _like_ getting out of bed."

"What time is it?"

Marlene poked her head out of the blankets and peered at the alarm clock.

"Umm…….almost six."

Vincent groaned and rolled over, nearly flattening Marlene, to get a look at the clock himself.

"Why on _earth_ are you up? We stayed up very late last night."

"But it's _snowing_!"

"Alright, fine. You win. Give me a few minutes to get up and wake up, would you? Then I'll make breakfast."

"Okay!"

Marlene pranced out of the room and headed off down the hallway, singing a made-up song about snow as she went. Vincent crawled out of bed with a sigh and shuffled over to the window to see what the weather looked like.

Outside was a swirling mass of white. _Snowing_ was an understatement.

----------------------------------

Vincent told Marlene over omelettes and toast.

"You can't go out and play in that."

"What? Why not?"

"You'll get lost."

"Will not!"

"Marlene, that is what we call a blizzard. You don't get them in Midgar- no mountains to catch the clouds, and the wrong sort of climate. If you go outside, you won't be able to see the house and you'll wander off. Then, if I can't find you, Tifa will use me for a doormat at 7th Heaven. You'll have to stay inside until the storm passes."

Marlene pouted but agreed.

By that afternoon, she was bored.

By evening, Vincent was ready to give up.

Day Nine: Marlene entered the room the same way as she had the day before, but she sat on Vincent's stomach and stared at him until he opened his eyes.

"Yes?"

"It's still snowing."

"Not surprising. These storms often last for several days at a time."

"I'm bored."

"You could go back to sleep for a little while."

Marlene considered this, then slid under the blankets and cuddled up to Vincent's stomach.

"What do you do when it's all snowy and cold like this?"

"Me?"

"Uh-huh."

"I sleep late, and I spend a lot of time reading."

"That's no fun."

Vincent frowned, trying to come up with something suitably interesting to keep Marlene busy for the day.

"I have an idea."

"Really?"

"When we do get up, we can make strawberry pancakes for breakfast. Then you and I can explore the rest of the house."

"Really? Tifa said nobody goes into the rest of it….she says it's haunted."

Vincent chuckled darkly.

"It is."

Marlene shivered excitedly.

"Can we? Really?"

"Yes."

"Yay!"

"But only if you let me get some more sleep first."

"'kay."

---------------------------

Sometime later, Vincent wrapped Marlene in an old apron- which was far too big for her- and let her help him cook. Breakfast was a success. Then Marlene had to run around the house, looking for things they would need on their journey into the rest of the house. The list included flashlights, snacks, a first aid kit, candy, bug spray, and a number of other things Vincent wasn't sure the purpose of but agreeably packed into a backpack which he, the only person large enough to lift it, would carry.

They set out after lunch.

Vincent's part of the house was built with the intent of possibly extending into more of the house but only if the resident wanted it, so a wide door at the end of the hall led into the main body of the old mansion.

Marlene went in first because she insisted, wrapped up to protect her from the cold, brandishing a bright flashlight in one hand.

"Marlene?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I have to ask….why are we carrying candy?"

Marlene turned around to give Vincent an incredulous look.

"Because that's how you get rid of basement monsters! You throw them candy, and then you run away while they're eating it!"

"Basement monsters?"

"Yes."

Vincent wondered what she'd say if she knew he was one of those basement monsters, then decided not to say anything.

They continued on.

In the next hallway, Marlene found foot prints.

"Look!"

Vincent dutifully bent to examine the prints, noting that they weren't much larger than Marlene's hand and therefore probably belonged to something that wouldn't want to get anywhere near them.

Three doors down, something large, billowy, and white shot out out of the closet directly into Marlene's face. She shrieked and leaped at Vincent.

"Backpack!" she yelled, trying to pull the straps off his shoulders as the thing fluttered around the room.

Vincent slid the backpack off, wondering what she could have that would be suitable for chasing off a raven stuck under a dust-cover.

"Duck!"

Next thing he knew, she was letting fly with a large spray bottle. The raven, now wet as well as trapped, vanished into the hallway, leaving Vincent and Marlene alone in a room that smelled of lemon dish soap.

"What was that?"

"Huh?"

"In the bottle."

"Soap and water. Ghosts only live where it's dusty and dirty, so if you clean up, they go away."

That was a new one.

Marlene proceeded to chase after the poor raven with the bottle, until it fled out a broken window and was lost to the swirling snow. Satisfied, she led Vincent off down another corridor.

--------------------------

By the time they had reached the second to highest floor, Marlene had defended them against vampires (actually some very disgruntled bats wintering in a chimney) with garlic borrowed from the kitchen and shish-kebab skewers brandished in as menacing a manner as possible, warded off closet monsters (in reality what Vincent suspected was a stray cat from the remainder of the village) by shining light into every corner of the closet and making a ribbon barrier between it and the rest of the room, chased a series of small scuttling things Vincent couldn't identify with bug spray in one hand and chocolate bait in the other (things that make noise in the floor liked chocolate), and huddled under Vincent's cloak while he swept a tremendous colony of spiders out of the middle of a doorway.

He checked his watch. They'd taken three hours to get this far. The plan was working wonderfully.

---------------------------------

Twenty minutes and some threatening slime-mold later (destroyed with salt and air freshener, which Marlene said was good on any kind of shower monster) something stalked out of a room at the end of the hall and growled at them. A Nibel wolf.

"Don't say a-"

"Werewolf!" Marlene squealed, reaching for the backpack.

The wolf lunged at them. Vincent swept Marlene to the side, threw off the backpack, and reached for his gun, which he belatedly realized he'd left in his room, having promised to keep it away while Marlene was with him. The wolf growled again. Two more slunk out of the room.

_I have to do everything around here, don't I?_

Don't touch Marlene!

_Who?_

The girl!

_As you wish._

Chaos took control in a whirl of red and claws, leaping at the nearest wolf and bowling it head over tail into the wall. Marlene screamed.

"Run," Chaos hissed, and stood up, spreading his wings to separate Marlene from the wolves. Behind him, Marlene grabbed the backpack and scampered down the hall.

Free to fight, Chaos leaped at the next wolf with claws and fangs bared.

-------------------

When Chaos had discovered that there were a total of five wolves in the house and so far he'd only killed two, Marlene was back, armed with a slingshot and marbles. Her first shot ricocheted off of the rump of a wolf about to sink its teeth into Chaos' calf. It yelped, whirled to see what had hurt it, and had its throat cut by a quick swipe of Chaos' claws.

"What are you doing here?" Chaos roared.

"Helping!"

Chaos had no answer, but let Marlene distract the fourth wolf with a well-aimed marble that hit it squarely in one eye. He made to grab it, but had to veer off course and block a snarling leap at his head. Marlene shot two more marbles, one into the wolf's foot, which made it yelp, and one into its mouth, which made it choke and gave Chaos time to pounce and sit on it while he strangled the wolf that had jumped at him.

The mess ended with five dead wolves in the hallway and Marlene holding another marble at the ready, aimed at Chaos.

"Where's Mr. Valentine?" she demanded.

"What?"

"Mr. Valentine! What did you do with him?"

"Oh, Vincent? He….went away. We don't….we don't get along very well."

Marlene hesitated, then lowered the slingshot.

"Who are you?"

"Chaos."

"What are you?"

Chaos grinned at her, flashing sharp fangs, and spread his wings.

"I'm the basement monster."

Marlene stared at him, then went for the backpack, which was at the end of the hall, and came running back with a cherry lollypop. Wordlessly, she offered it to Chaos, who took it delicately in his claws, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

"Thank you."

"What are you gonna do with the wolves?" Marlene wanted to know, toeing the nearest body.

"I'll take them out and bury them when the storm abates," Chaos said, meaning that either Vincent would bury them or he would eat them and get into trouble with Vincent. "You should go back to the house. You're safe there."

"But I-"

Something whimpered in the room the wolves had come out of. Marlene pulled away from Chaos and ran to the room, skirting the sprawled bodies. "Come look!" she cried.

Chaos joined her at the door. Hidden in the closet, four small puppies huddled.

"The pack was protecting them," Chaos murmured. "Nothing can be done for them n-"

Marlene ran in and crouched beside them. They were still very small, certainly not weaned yet, and fuzzy all over. One tottered over to Marlene's leg and nuzzled, searching for a teat. Chaos stepped in and shooed it away.

"I want to keep them."

"They are predators, child. They are not pets."

"They're just babies!"

"Their parents tried to kill you."

"But they'll die!"

"Child-"

"My name is Marlene! And I'm keeping them! Vincent would let me!"

Chaos sighed and reached for the nearest puppy.

"No!"

"If you are going to keep them, then you can't leave them in here. It's too far and too dangerous for you. I'm simply picking them up so we can take them back to the house."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I can carry two, and you get the other two and the backpack."

"Fair enough."

-------------------------------

Chaos stood in the kitchen and watched over the puppies- which, for lack of a better place to put them, had wound up occupying the kitchen sink- while Marlene located the collection of cleaning rags in the broom closet and made a bed in an unused cabinet near the end of the counter with the rags and a couple of ratty towels she'd found.

"There," she said, standing up. "How's that?"

"Very good," Chaos murmured, bending to look. He picked up the closest puppy and put it inside. The puppy toddled around inside, then sat down. Satisfied, Chaos transferred the other three puppies and closed the cabinet door, using a rag Marlene had dropped to block it open enough to admit air and some light. "They'll be safe in there."

"So now we have to- hey! You're bleeding!"

"Am I?"

"Yeah! Right there!" Marlene pointed at Chaos' folded wings, where blood was slowly dripping onto the tile floor. Chaos flicked the wing up and held it over the sink, then cautiously unfurled it. More blood trickled out, having collected in the folds of the wing. The source was a ragged tear in the membrane of the wing. Chaos prodded it curiously.

"Huh. I didn't even feel that. Must have been when- what?"

Marlene was tugging urgently on his arm.

"We have to clean that, or it could get infected."

"Nonsense. I don't get-"

"Tifa says so!"

"This Tifa you speak of isn't-"

"Come _on_!"

Chaos rolled his eyes and let Marlene drag him to the bathroom. He leaned against the doorframe while she searched in the vanity, maneuvering his lollypop stick from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Okay. Sit down."

"Where?"

"On the tub."

Obediently, he perched on the edge of the bathtub.

"Lemme see it."

He spread the wing, splattering blood into the tub. Marlene scowled, took her shoes and socks off, and clambered into the tub.

"This has to be cleaned," she told him, turning the faucet and wetting a washcloth in the thin stream of water. "Okay?"

Chaos snorted but said nothing. Marlene swiped at the smeared blood around the tear, and he inhaled sharply, nearly choking on the lollypop.

"Sorry."

"Nngh!"

"It's okay," Marlene cooed soothingly at him. "It's alright."

Chaos hissed and tried to pull his wing away. Marlene pulled back, bracing her feet against the side of the tub. Chaos lost the battle and gave up, gripping the edge of the tub tightly while Marlene applied soap and water to the tear. When that was done, she patted it dry with a towel and climbed out of the tub.

"Swing it over here," she said. "I'll make it better."

Muttering softly to himself, Chaos did as he was told. There was no easy escape out of the bathroom, after all, not without hurting Marlene, which would anger Vincent, so he was stuck until she moved.

Humming happily, Marlene smeared antiseptic cream over and into the tear. Chaos flinched but kept his mouth shut, loath to be shushed and comforted again. While Marlene examined the wound and decided that Band Aids weren't big enough for this, Chaos crunched the rest of the candy off the lollypop stick to distract himself.

"That's bad for your teeth," Marlene scolded him, selecting a pad of gauze from the first aid supplies she'd gathered and holding it to the tear. Satisfied that it was large enough, she picked up the roll of medical tape and started taping the gauze down. "Tifa says it'll give you cavities, and those are bad."

"I don't get cavities."

"Everyone gets them."

Once the pad was firmly taped down, Marlene repeated the exercise for the other side of the wing.

"I do not."

"Bet you do. There! All done!"

"Thank you," Chaos muttered, standing and flexing his wing. "I'll be leaving now."

"Already?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"This is not my place."

"I don't want to be all alone!"

Chaos shrugged.

"Vincent and I prefer to avoid each other. With me gone, he'll be back soon. Besides, you are safe in this part of the house. Stay with your pups and wait."

"Okay. Thank you."

Chaos said nothing, just opened the kitchen door and vanished into the blowing snow.

-------------------------

Fifteen minutes later, Vincent staggered back in, covered in crusted snow and ready to kill Chaos if only the demon had a corporeal body of its own.

"Mr. Valentine!" Marlene squealed, running to him. "Why were you outside?"

"I was knocked through the window in that mess," Vincent muttered, shucking his cloak and working his soaked boots off carefully.

"Look!"

Marlene pulled the cabinet door back and showed Vincent the puppies.

"Aren't they cute? Chaos said I could probably keep them because they're still so little that they haven't learned to be mean yet."

"Marlene, those are wolf cubs."

"Uh-huh."

"Nibel wolf cubs."

"I know."

"_Who_ said you could keep them?"

"Chaos. The basement monster. He said you don't like him."

"And this is why."

After the boots, Vincent peeled his wet shirt off and tossed it into the sink. He was soaked to the skin and wanted to get everything off that decency allowed before he dripped up to his bedroom.

"But he's really nice. He protected me. He killed all the wolves that wanted to eat me. And I made his wing better."

"What?"

"It had a hole in it. I cleaned it and made it better."

Vincent sighed and tugged a sock off.

"Fine. We'll see about your pups after I get out of the bath. Do you need anything?"

"Hot chocolate?"

Vincent nodded and made it.

------------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Vincent was up to his nose in a deep, hot bath. A mug of hot chocolate steamed within easy reach. Honestly, there were times when he wondered about Chaos. It was one thing for the demon to defend Marlene- Vincent had ordered it, and even animals recognized a need to defend other young animals. It was entirely another for him to have brought Marlene and the pups back to the house, helped house the pups, and let Marlene bandage his wing. Very strange, given the thirty-odd years Vincent had spent observing him.

"Mr. Valentine?"

Vincent looked up sharply. Marlene was over at the door, holding her cocoa.

"Yes?" he asked, glad that there were enough bubbles produced by the bath salts to hide any bits of his anatomy he thought he'd get flayed for letting Marlene see.

"Can I get in with you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Marlene repeated the question. Vincent stared at her.

"You want to get in the bath with me?"

She nodded.

"Tifa and Cloud let me, sometimes. And Tifa said there was a really big bath tub in your room, but I couldn't get in it without you because I wouldn't be able to get out."

Well, that at least was true. The tub in Vincent's bathroom was sunk into the floor and deep enough for Vincent to completely submerge himself if he actually wanted to. To make it more comfortable, there was a bench around one half of it and a pair of head-rests in the far end.

"Marlene, girls aren't supposed to take baths with boys unless they're very special friends, like Cloud and Tifa are."

"But they let me in with them!"

"They're your guardians."

"And so are you, for now," Marlene said smugly. "So it's okay. And I'm only a little girl. Tifa says I can only have special boy friends when I'm as big as she is."

"I suppose," Vincent sighed, drawing his knees up and waiting to help Marlene into the massive tub.

Marlene stripped delightedly and scampered over. She handed Vincent her cocoa first, then jumped in. Water splashed into Vincent's face, but he successfully held the cocoa out of the way.

"Wow! This is like a little pool! You're so lucky, Mr. Valentine!"

"Yes, I suppose I am."

Day Ten: The storm had stopped sometime in the night, the whole world falling into a muffled quiet. Vincent slept late, not even stirring when Marlene stumbled in just before dawn to crawl under the blankets and cuddle with him.

It was late when they woke, nearly at the same time. Gentle light filtered in through the curtains. It was brighter than it had been during the storm, but not bright enough for clear skies. Curious, Vincent slipped out of bed and shuffled to the window. Everything outside was blanketed in white, lit by the glow of the sun behind heavy, pale clouds.

"Mmnuh?" Marlene mumbled.

"Just looking at the snow. Go back to sleep."

"Snow? Did it stop?"

"It did."

Marlene joined Vincent at the window. The sight of the thick blanket of white made her forget everything about sleeping for a few more hours.

"Wow! Look at all of it! Let's go play!"

"Now?"

"Yeah!"

Vincent sighed.

"We both have to get dressed first, and I need a cup of coffee. Can you wait until after we eat?"

"Okay!"

------------------------------------

It took some doing to get Marlene to stay still long enough for Vincent to bundle her up in snow pants, gloves, scarf, jacket, boots, and a hat. As soon as she was free, she ran to the door, pulled it open, and leaped out into the white world beyond. Vincent put on his own cold-weather clothes and went out after her, following her delighted cries.

"Mr. Valentine! Come make snow angels with me!"

Vincent obligingly waded through at least two feet of snow to join Marlene in a clear white expanse that had been his first attempt at cultivating a decent lawn this summer. She was lying flat on her back, flailing exuberantly.

"Come on! Lie down!"

He spread his arms wide and fell back, letting the thick snow cushion his fall. It puffed up in a little cloud, settling over him like a personal frost. With Marlene cheering him on, he spread his legs and waved his arms up and down, clearing an impressive amount of snow. When he felt he'd done well enough, he sat up and carefully climbed out of the imprint. There was a perfect 6 foot 2 inch snow angel left behind him in the snow.

"It's so good!" Marlene enthused, reaching for Vincent to help her out of her own angel. It was much smaller and not quite as neat, but was undeniably an angel.

Together, they populated the front yard with angels until there wasn't room for another.

Day Eleven: Yesterday had been a day of innocent play. Today was a day of war. After helping Marlene construct a truly impressive fort, Vincent dove for cover behind the woodpile and tossed snowballs at her, dodging incoming projectiles with limited success.

Day Twelve: At Vincent's suggestion, they lined the airstrip with snowmen, some traditional and some as fanciful and strange as their medium would allow. Cid was in for a surprise when he arrived in two days time.

Day Fourteen: Cid arrived in a flurry of snow, racing to beat the clouds. He expressed surprise and concern for Vincent's mental state over the snowmen and gratefully accepted the invitation to stay until the new storm passed.

Day Fifteen: Cid was drinking tea in the kitchen when Vincent shuffled in and made a beeline for the coffee pot. Cid had already started it, for which Vincent appeared to be grateful.

"Where's the kid?"

"Still asleep. Where is Denzel?"

"With Shera. I checked the forecasts before I left and didn't want to hit the storm with him on board. Tifa'd've used me for a punching bag if I had. How'd you get in to check on her without waking her up?"

"Hmm?"

"She's a light sleeper. Tifa's told me about trying to get past in the hallway and waking her up. How'd you do it?"

"I didn't go into her room."

Cid frowned.

"This isn't more of your freaky demon shit, is it?"

"Hardly. She sleeps with me."

Cid choked on his tea. Vincent waited politely until his sputtering had died down before smiling faintly at him over the rim of the coffee mug.

"Something wrong?"

"I knew she was a friendly kid, but…..she _sleeps_ with you?"

"Yes."

"She won't even sleep with _Cloud_ unless she's been scared out of her mind by something, and there's no way you're not as frightening as Cloud to her."

"If all you're going by is appearance, then that is true. But you're not factoring anything else in."

"Like what?" Cid demanded.

"I am quiet and I don't make sudden movements. Cloud may be quiet, but he's also high strung and prone to suddenly realizing he has something to do and vacating the premises as fast as possible. I take the time to listen to Marlene, factor her needs and wants into what I do, and she reacts accordingly. It's instinct to stay near the individual who caters to your needs and keeps you safe."

Cid shrugged.

"If you say so. Careful, though, Barret won't be happy if you take her away from him."

"That was hardly my intention. Have you eaten?"

"Nah. It's not my kitchen."

Vincent nodded and got up to make breakfast. While he was puttering comfortably around the kitchen, Cid brought something else up.

"Are those wolf cubs in your cabinets?"

"They are. And they need to be let out for a while. Don't kick any of them."

Vincent opened the cabinet and all four pups tumbled out. Off they tottered, mostly ignored by Vincent and stared at by Cid.

"Vin?"

"Yes?"

"How'd you get a litter of Nibel wolf pups?"

"Marlene and I were exploring the main body of the mansion. A small pack of wolves was using one of the upper rooms as a winter den."

"And you just took the pups?"

"No. The wolves attacked us, presumably to protect the cubs. Chaos killed the adults. Marlene asked that we rescue the pups and try to raise them as pets."

Cid snorted.

"She's got you wrapped around her little fingers, huh?"

Vincent shrugged, not looking back to let Cid see his fond smile.

"I don't think so, no."

Day Sixteen: Cid left. Behind him, Marlene perched on Vincent's shoulders and waved energetically with both hands. This made up for Vincent not waving, largely because he was holding onto Marlene and trying to keep from dropping her into a snowdrift while she waved.

On the way back to the house, he dropped her in a snowdrift.

As soon as she had struggled free, Marlene took a running start, leaped into the back of Vincent's legs, and sent him face-first into another, larger drift, then sat on his back and giggled at her victory.

The rest of the walk back was a series of falls into every available snow drift between the strip and the mansion.

Day Nineteen: Cloud and Tifa came up the shoveled path to the front door at something akin to a quick trot, Tifa in the lead.

"I just _left_ her here. I had no _idea_ it would take so long! Vincent's always alone; he doesn't know what to do with kids, what was I _thinking_?"

"Vincent's good at coping, Tifa," Cloud soothed. "I'm sure they managed. Cid said everything was fine when he came in last week."

"But it was Cid that said it," Tifa muttered, stomping snow off her boots as they reached the door. "Fine to him is everyone's alive and the roof hasn't caved in."

"If you say so."

Tifa knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence, then loud yipping and barks and the sound of something skittering over the floor.

"When did Vincent get dogs?" Cloud asked.

"He didn't have them when I dropped Marlene off."

"You're starting to worry again. Stop."

Tifa reached for the door, about to open it and go in, when it swung open. Four wolf cubs tumbled out around their feet, followed by Marlene.

"Tifa!" she cried delightedly. She hugged Tifa as hard as she could, then jumped at Cloud, who caught her with practiced ease. "You're back!"

"Uh-huh. Where'd the puppies- are those _wolf _cubs?"

"Yeah! We rescued them!"

"Marlene, where is Vincent?"

"He's in the living room."

"I need to talk to him." Tifa kicked her boots off and marched into the house, leaving Cloud to put Marlene down and get his own snow gear off.

"Cloud?"

"Yes, Marlene?"

"Is Tifa angry?"

"Not angry, no. She and I aren't too comfortable with Nibel wolves. We grew up here, remember? These wolves were a real problem when I was your age."

"Mr. Valentine says they're still babies, so we can teach them not to be bad."

"Cloud?" Tifa whispered, tip-toeing back to the door. "You have to see this."

"See what?"

"Vincent."

Curious, Cloud followed Tifa back into the living room, trailing puppies. Vincent was stretched out on the couch, one hand hanging over the edge, sound asleep and snoring softly. He did not stir when a puppy trotted in and drooled affectionately on his wrist.

"Mr. Valentine has a cold," Marlene explained, sliding out of Cloud's hold. "I'm taking care of him."

"You're taking care-" Tifa started. Cloud covered her mouth and smiled at Marlene.

"I'm sure you're doing a great job. Tifa, can you go back to the ship and tell Cid it's gonna be awhile? I want to get a better look at these wolves."

Tifa nodded silently and went to put her boots on. When she was gone, Cloud moved closer to the couch and peered down at Vincent. Apparently sensing the intrusion of his personal space, Vincent lifted a hand and waved vaguely in Cloud's direction, then let it fall back to the floor with a congested huff. Cloud grinned and bent to pick up the first puppy he could find.

Day Twenty One: The HighWind took off smoothly. Marlene leaned heavily against the window and waved at Vincent's rapidly shrinking shape in the snow.

On the ground, Vincent waved until he was sure Marlene could no longer see him, then turned to go back to the house. He had four puppies to begin training and plenty of time in which to do it.

_Release me._

He stopped, head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Chaos?"

_Release me._

"What on earth for?"

_I have not bid the child farewell._

"Does it matter?"

_She cared for me, whether I wanted it or not. That deserves more thanks than I gave her at the time. The least I can do is say goodbye._

"Go no farther than the edge of the range."

_As you like._

_-------------------_

"Um….Cid, there's something following us."

"I see it. Can't tell what it is yet, though. Probably a- whoa!"

A sleek red shape shot past the windows, spinning down to where Marlene stood on the lower observation deck.

"It's Chaos!" she cried, delighted. "Look!"

Outside, Chaos turned a couple of barrel rolls and settled, keeping pace with the ship.

"He came to say goodbye!"

"Marlene, how do you know what Chaos is?"

"He's the basement monster at Vincent's house. He saved me from the wolves and helped me bring the puppies to the kitchen. He's really nice."

Chaos waved to Marlene. She waved back. With a quick salute, Chaos fell back diving deep into a canyon. He reappeared a few minutes later, landing delicately on the upper observation deck. Marlene ran to the door and fought with the controls, trying to get out. Ignoring Tifa's protests, Cloud went and unlocked the door.

"You came back!" Marlene said happily, running out and hugging Chaos.

"I did."

"Thank you!"

"It is I who should be thanking you. You healed me."

"You saved me."

"That is what I do these days, child. It is rare to find someone who will treat me with such courtesy as you."

Marlene blinked, confused.

"There are very few people who are as nice to me as you are," Chaos clarified. Marlene smiled.

"I like you. Of course I'm nice."

Chaos smiled and held out his hand. Marlene gasped. Chaos was holding a bunch of fresh snow-drops.

"For you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Eyes bright, Marlene took the gift and sniffed the delicate flowers.

"They're beautiful. Thank you."

"You are welcome. And thank you. For my wing, but for Vincent as well."

"Huh?"

"He needs to smile more often. You have shown him how. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome."

Chaos raised his wings, preparing to fly. Marlene hugged him again, holding tight.

"Do you have to go?"

"I cannot leave these mountains. I am the monster in Vincent's basement, not yours."

"Okay. Make sure my puppies are okay, won't you?"

"I will."

"Take care. And keep Vincent safe. He said I can come back in the springtime."

Laughing, Chaos leaped over the side of the ship.

"I always do!" he called back to Marlene, veering off and heading back towards Nibleheim.

"Goodbye!"

"Until we meet again, child!"

--------------------------------------

Vincent waded through the tide of puppies on his way inside, making a mental note to build a fence as soon as it was dry enough to do so.

"You're fond of her, aren't you?"

_No more than you are._

"Any reason why?"

_Do I need a reason?_

"Perhaps you don't. Neither do I."


End file.
